More than 12 kids injured in bus wreck

At least a dozen young children were injured when a school bus was involved in a crash with five other vehicles on westbound Interstate Highway 80 in Berkeley this morning, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The crash happened when the bus rear-ended a Nissan van near the Ashby Avenue exit at about 10 a.m., CHP officials said. That crash caused a chain reaction that involved four more cars.

At least a dozen children and four adults on board the bus suffered minor injuries, including bloody noses and scrapes, according to the CHP. The drivers of two of the other cars were also injured but not seriously.

Some of the children and all of the adults were taken to Alta Bates Summit Medical Center for treatment, CHP officials said.

Two lanes of the highway were closed for more than an hour while the CHP investigated the crash. Officers remained in the area into the afternoon, allowing parents to pick their children up near the crash scene, according to the CHP.

The group of children as young as 5 years old were on a field trip from a Berkeley community center to Middle Harbor Shoreline Park in Oakland, CHP officials said.

CHP officers will inspect the bus to make sure there are no mechanical problems that contributed to the collision.